Let April Spring Cleaning with the Fledglings commence (hopefully Dogsbum wont turn it into too much of a shower....)

[Dogsbumhair]

The fledglings is a long running thread based on the Flylady cleaning/tidying principles. Personally I’m a newbie with only a couple of months flying under my belt but some members of the group have been on the thread for a number of years, so the thread is a mixed group of more and less experienced fledglings. I have found myself to be very warmly received as a newbie so please don’t be scared to join the gang.

Flylady link link here.

The system initially seems quite confusing so my advice as a fellow newbie would be to just go with it and accept that you will probably feel a bit confused for the first couple of weeks and then it will start to come together and make more sense.

The basic principles are (very) loosely as follows:

1. No perfectionism allowed (it is your enemy and it is stopping you getting anything done)
2. Little and often is the way to go (your house didn’t get in a mess in a day, it wont get sorted in one)
3. You are never behind, just jump in where you are (We are in a different zone of the house each week and all the house zones come round once a month, so all the tasks will come round again soon)
4. The point of this system is that by doing little and often your life isn’t dominated by housework and you have more time to do the fun things that you’d much prefer to be doing

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

1. start or repeat baby steps

1. repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

1. reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

[And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.]

More info here on getting started and on Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings.

Later on today I will be posting up the links and information for tomorrow’s tasks

The advice from the wise and experienced members of the group is not to subscribe to the emails, but I have to confess that as a foolish newbie I do receive them I have learnt to ruthlessly bin anything beyond the actual flying tasks though.

Hopefully I haven’t missed anything too important off this introduction, but I’m sure someone more experienced will pop up to supplement this information if I have.

Good luck and happy flying through April!……………..

In terms of the talk about poorly kids and is it physical or stress related I can feel some rusty cogs turning in my brain somewhere about how the stress hormone cortisol has a corrosive effect (or something like that) on the immune system, so it might be both physical and stress related, if you know what I mean. I'm afraid my very shaky knowledge of this area doesn't extend beyond that but it might be something that you can look up to see if it has any legs for you as a theory.

I should imagine (although I'm totally guessing here and have absolutely no external source to back this up) that growing also puts a strain on your immune system as it must be a significant drain on your bodies energy. Personally I've never had a growth spurt so I don't even have any personal experience to back up this random theory that has just popped into my head

You are correct with growth spurts putting huge stresses on the body and its immune system. Ditto with the effects with stress impacting on immune system. But you also have the compounding factors of kids who don't drink enough, eat enough, eat too much, underlying allergies, kids who use feeling sick to try to get out of things, Mucus going down backs of throats which can be caused by colds/viruses/allergies (eg dust/hayfever), over tiredness, problems with eyesight, sad etc etc sooo many reasons for kids to feel sick and they are buggers for not being about to communicate what is going on properly. can you tell that I have been giving this a lot of thought recently

Waves to everybody, was only off the thread for a day, but feels like a lot has happened!

Lots of positive school related stuff is good to hear. :)

It was really nice to see BIL, but he brought a lot of clutter from DH's grandparents' house which MIL is now clearing. He was also babysitting while DH and I were at my uncle's funeral, which was a very sad occasion as he was relatively young and will be sadly missed. Has also started me thinking about needing to see more of family in general.

Sorry to hear about poorly children, and do hope you can find some way of easing stresses and strains.

Eek! Look at the time. Must do some work.

What ho fledglings! Hope everyone ok!

Blue I'm so very sorry to hear about your uncle; particularly sad when someone dies relatively young. I hope the funeral was a comfort (well, as much as possible in circumstances). I know it sounds so obvious, but it is the 'finality' of it that gets to you I think.

[And sorry - it was me (as usual) - waffling on on the thread yesterday ]

Toffee that is so brilliant about your dss!! So glad that ds2 enjoyed everything about his potential new school and great to hear that ds1 is continuing to make such brilliant progress!

Whoknows, DEM and Dogsbum Thanks for your thoughts about stress and growth spurts and dd. (And sorry to hear your two dc have been going through the same thing Whoknows and DEM. Nothing like what some other parents have to go through of course where serious illness is concerned, but is quite worrying to have to witness and experience it with them. And yes Dogsbum I remember reading the same thing about cortisol.

I think you are all right!! DD doesn't sleep or drink enough (even when we put huge emphasis on doing these things) ie I have got to the point of actually placing a small glass of water in front of her when she comes in from school and watching her drink it! And repeating the same thing before supper! And once again before bed! Likewise, one of us goes up to bed with her just before 8.30pm but she often isn't asleep until 10.30pm (despite having removed all possible distractions). And she is stick thin despite eating well.

But she is growing very fast and although they try not to put a lot of pressure on them at school, it is inevitable with two separate weeks of exams coming up (each set in a different lang ). In addition she has her ballet 'spectacle' coming up (lots and lots of extra rehearsals) and lots of extra lessons and events happening around her forthcoming Confirmation and (to a much lesser degree thankfully) around her school fete performance.

The other dc in her class seem to be able to cope fine as far as I know, but I decided last night that if she continues to exhibit stress/fatigue symptoms, then I am going to stage a "Mummy Intervention" (don't normally do this sort of thing ever but needs must and all that) and remove ballet from the equation all together. Her teacher won't be at all happy (to put it mildly) but something has to go and it will remove one entire level of stress as performance is happening weekend before exams start. Should have done this before now probably but,as you all know, dithering is my forté. Really don't like letting others down either.

Dogsbum my pleasure re: the thread running information. I fear I probably told you a very long-winded way to go about it (ie my over-detailed old-fashioned pedantic method!!) but you did the job brilliantly and glad you found it helpful wrt your Flying schedule too!

Greymalkin don't hesitate if you have any qs and thanks again for volunteering! [Strokes Greymalkin's and throws it a generous portion of prime rib]

Whoknows very impressed by all the steam cleaning (still very tempted to get one!) and glad you found the shoes! The "combining" of your two jobs sounds great btw (albeit very hectic!!). Good to hear your ds has a confirmed school placement but sorry that you are still having to sort finer details of statement which must be intensely wearing. (Makes you wonder what would happen to dc who don't have as competent and persistent a parent as you). And congrats on completing OU assignment - you continually astound me wrt how much you manage to get done!!

Big wing flaps to everyone else! Bit of a slow start today ... nearly late for school.

Ta da:
fed animals
wm and dw on
dining room table hot spots
10 mins dog training
thoroughly cleaned base of electric toothbrush (which was in a bit of a revolting condition) with vinegar plus all attachments
collected parcel from post office
wrote list
spoke to friend on phone

To do:
second dog walk of the day (dh did first)
supermarket shop
baking
more ironng
mahoosive sesson sewing on laundry tags
contact window cleaner
contact vet
contact dog trainer
school run
hwk supervision
cake decorating

Have a good afternoon everyone!

Sometimes it has to be done SC stick thin is just how some kids are - I was. So i wouldn't worry if she is eating properly unless she is showing signs of making herself ill to maintain the stick thin. Ballet going is sometimes what some kids needs. Ds just can't cope with the level of activities that other kids can. He needs a lot of down time. But then so do I. Mind you I do exactly the same thing with ds and drinks. Thankfully due to the sleep meds once I get him to bed he is more likely to just sleep when technology is removed

Went back to bed after the school run. not sleeping well atm and felt like death. Fell fractionally better for the sleep but need something to eat and drink. Feeling very overwhelmed and not knowing where to start with the clutter and stuff atm. :( Not helped by feeling drained and not 100%. Nothing specific just that annoying feeling a bit off thing.

SC I agree with DEM that children being stick thin aren't necessarily a cause for concern; DD1 is another one who's always naturally been as thin as a rake. However, it's always worth getting it checked out to see whether there's a medical cause (a general comment - I know you've had check-ups done already); one of the other mothers I met in the paediatric unit took her DS to the doctor as he was very thin and not gaining any weight despite eating lots, and it took him a long time to be diagnosed (with diabetes - consultant said they see a huge number of misdiagnoses by GPs). Fab news about your DD's school place, btw.

So sorry to hear of the losses in your families, Toffee and Blue.

WhoKnows of your steam cleaner.

Dogsbum Hope you're getting on OK with your DH away. DH went away on quite a few long-distance trips before DD1 was born and I remember feeling that I couldn't relax and look forward to her arriving until he was back safely.

Waves to everyone else; I've been reading the thread whenever I've had a spare moment but am afraid I've forgotten most of it.

DD1 is now home; she was discharged from hospital after lunch today. As she's already been spending a good part of the day at home since the weekend, it's not as scary as it could have been - and they got us used to making decisions about insulin doses, working out carbohydrates in her meals, etc. at the hospital towards the end of her stay, as well as giving us lots of training, so it's not as if we've been thrown completely in at the deep end. She'll be off school for the rest of the week (Friday is a bank holiday, anyway), but we have a huge pile of schoolwork for her to get through so there's no chance of her getting bored; persuading her to actually do it is another matter, however.

Tomorrow’s links…..

Baby-step no. 29 for Wed 29th April is here

We are in Zone 5 The Living Room and Zone 1 Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room this week: here

If you want to, you can declutter for 15 mins a day in Zone 5!

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 5 is here

Wednesday’s mission is here

The daily focus for Wednesday is: Anti-Procrastination Day

The monthly habit for April is making your bed

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan: here

Happy flying…..

I've been ill and not gotten much of anything done. Starting to climb out of it now, so have a day of cleaning to catch up on. I'm trying to pace myself.

Morning!

Linzer lovely to have you back! So pleased to hear that your dd is out of hospital and that you have been given such training and you feel relatively confident about insulin delivery (which does sounds rather scary to the uninitiated). You are all doing brilliantly!! Especially given the enormous adaptations you must have had to make! And best of luck to your dd getting through all that school work (your poor dd, there is no avoiding it, is there?).

DEM sorry to hear you are feeling so overwhelmed (v. understandable when your body doesn't allow you to have a clear run at things) and that you are feeling so under par . Take it steady and don't be tempted to do too much the minute you feel better (although easier said than done I imagine). Being in constant pain must be so frustrating and demoralising . Small steps and all of that x

Linzer and DEM thanks for further thoughts about dd. Yes, hard to believe, but I was stick thin at her age too (my db has remained so). She definitely has a healthy appetite and enjoys a fairly good range of food although dh feeds her too many Belgian pastries. And she's definitely not at the stage where she is watching her weight as she hasn't reached that level of body consciousness yet, thank heavens (not too bothered about her appearance). Thanks though, will definitely ask again at doc - interesting to hear about the misdiagnoses. And she is oK with a certain amount of activity, but she does find it too much when everything is stepped up towards end of term and extras are added in. Will ponder all this seriously! Thx again.

I'm baking cakes atm but paying for the fact that I did not get enough done yesterday! Should have baked last night and decorated this morning. Instead of which I have only got the baking bit done this morning, cleaner is coming in a bit and I am therefore going to muck up all her good work in the kitchen almost immediately she has finished. V. bad planning on my part!

Furry one has sore paws! (He is not used to having so many walks.) He's still full of energy though so going to have to restrict his walks to soft going (ie grass in park).

Hope everyone has a good day!

argh! Linzer given such good training!

x post

Sorry to hear you have been under the weather Seaside Take it steady!

ta da:

rubbish out to bin
washing up done
tidying a few rooms done

I have an appointment to go to, and then I'll get some of that paper pile up cut down to size when I get home. Paperwork is one of those things that never seems to stop and it builds up in a heartbeat.

Morning everyone,

Lovely to see you back Linzer - really hope you are all doing well

Seaside - are you feeling any better today?

My DS has another viral wheeze episode going on. Lots of inhalers and tears going on here and a very disrupted night for the whole family. DS fell asleep in my arms about 20 minutes ago nod he is now tucked up in bed. I should be doing some flying, but I'm so knackered I just want to sit on the sofa!

Some ta-da's:
Cats fed
fed, watered, fires stoked and mound of treasure raked and polished
DS fed and cuddled LOTS
Washing machine on
Dishwasher
Beds made
Completed my 'how to run a flylady thread' document for next months

I have been having some intermittent internet problems so I have asked SC to help out with next months thread if I run into trouble. for you SC

grey

hello SC hope you are feeling a little better.

Going to have a work in progress ta da list as I don't feel like i have achieved anything.

ta da
proof read letter draft for school
contact secondary school to arrange a quiet visit - was impressed with how helpful sn staff were
revise milk allergy section of ds' allergy list
Consider the matter of home ed for final year of primary - needs further thought and research
Strip bed put coffee soaked duvet in washing machine and dryer
put bedding in washing machine
do ironing
collect clothes from ds' room
Check training schedule for making a decision as to whether or not to send ds - special event so he is going
sort mini pile of paperwork from lounge
find laptop battery, replace into machine and set to charge
drunk enough coffee to feel slightly twitchy
Speak at length to a lovely lady who was just ringing to confirm a few details from my hard to track down mother - very educational and pleasant it was too.
ring camhs and tell them not available for assigned appointment and could we rearrange.

Currently eating lunch, considering whether a soak in the bath is worth the effort to move the filing, where to put the plants from the kitchen and what indeed happened to spring whilst watching the hail.

to do
finish laundry
make up training kit - or check i did this already as i think i did
finish emptying and tidying lounge ready for early morning arrival of builder
cook some sausages for quick grab proper breakfast tomo
remove plants from kitchen and temporarily rehome
put away jam jars
figure out what to do with bread and lunch box stuff - perhaps make lunch box tonight?
remove fabrics and anything that shouldn't be in dining room
finish folding and ironing and get clothes put away

Linzer - great to hear DD is home from hospital and that you are getting to grips with managing her condition. Shame about all that schoolwork though.

Seaside - sorry to hear you've been ill.

SC - poor dog with sore paws . Hope running on grass helps.

Grey - poor DS. I should forget anything other than basic Flying today. You must be exhausted.

Wow, DEM, you're busy.

We have had good news today: by sheer coincidence, today both DC have been offered places at new schools for September . They will both be going in for odd days beforehand as DS1 is going for a once-weekly lesson and DS2 will be invited in for transition days and some other events, so he can get used to his new classmates.

Haven't done any Flying today. Took DM out this afternoon so we could visit estate agents, as she wants to move down here to be nearer to us.

The decking is nearly finished and looks fabulous. Am looking forward to being able to sit out in our garden at last. Just hope we have some warm weather soon.

Off to open a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate the school news!

Tomorrow’s links…..

Baby-step no. 30 for Thurs 30th April is here

We are in Zone 5 The Living Room and Zone 1 Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room this week: here

If you want to, you can declutter for 15 mins a day in Zone 5!

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 5 is here

Thursday’s mission is here

The daily focus for Thursday is: Errand Day

The monthly habit for April is making your bed

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan: here

Happy flying…..

Fab news Toffee

Today, I have made good progress with work,
taken some stuff to the charity shop
cleaned car windows sufficiently to see through them
Cooked and eaten dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.

Less positively, have pulled a muscle at Zumba so off for a bath

Can’t believe that this is my last night posting links, the month has gone really fast after the first couple of days when I was finding my feet with learning how to post the links. I’m still surprised how much I’ve enjoyed it and it has helped me to stay focussed and also feel more firmly part of the gang as a newbie. Thanks to everyone for being so nice about me finding my feet and to those who helped me out more actively when I had my internet connection issues.

I meant to update yesterday after posting links but I seemed to literally post the links and then hit a wall of total exhaustion and I just couldn’t type a word. I’ve slept really badly the last couple of nights so feeling pretty tired. I seem to have suddenly hit a point in pregnancy where I can’t get comfortable and also my eczema has flared up and temperature wise I’m running much hotter than normal. Put that together and sleep is not coming easily to me at the moment.

I finally booked myself that sewing machine lesson which was this evening so I knew that I needed to get a nap in this afternoon or I’d never make it, luckily I had no trouble having a two hour kip on the sofa this afternoon I’m definitely not a natural on the sewing machine, to say the least but it was my first ever time using a sewing machine and I did manage to achieve the goal of the two hour session, which was to produce a cushion cover, so I’ll chalk that up as a success.

So to not let the grass grow under my feet I think I’m going to go and look at sewing machines tomorrow and try and pick something up for around the £100 mark so that I can then get a bit of practice doing the basics on my own and then try and get at least another lesson in before Meerkitten arrives so that I have a few skills to build on with practice. That’s the plan, we’ll see what happens

That's amazing Toffee, what a long haul it's been for you with both schools.

Dark sorry I wandered into something that you have obviously been thinking about a lot, the poorly kid thing that is. It never occurred to me that mind reading was an essential skill for having a kid, not looking forward to trying to acquire that skill if Meerkitten can’t or wont tell me what is up with her

Linzer thanks for asking how I’m doing with DP away, I was feeling a bit anxious before he went, suddenly had this weird fear of how long would it take for me to be found if I fell down the stairs while he was away (not something I would ever worry about if I wasn’t pregnant!) So we’re making sure we send daily ‘still alive’ texts

However, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I’ve actually been really enjoying myself since he left That probably sounds terrible but it just means I can make a bit more DIY mess than normal without worrying that we don’t have a table to eat at in the evening during to my tools and half done projects being spread out on it. Also I’ve got a few things I want to buy before Meerkitten arrives.

So I just feel like I can really focus on some DIY and shopping things that I want to get sorted and then I think when he gets back I’ll feel ready to just stop, relax, put my feet up and just rest up through the final stretch of pregnancy. Or that is the current thought process anyway

So pleased to hear that DD is back home from hospital by the way Linzer

Steady bless your dogs sore paws! Still trying to imagine how he communicated that to you though!?! I’ve got an image of him lifting a paw and either offering it to you or looking at it mournfully! Presumably it must be even harder to work out what is wrong with a dog than with a child

Seaside I feel your pain regarding paperwork, it is the one thing that I never have any success getting under control, I seem to turn my back for a moment and it starts breeding!!! There is never an end to it!

Grey sorry to hear that your DS is poorly. Also sorry to hear you are having internet problems, a real nuisance when you are running thread as I know all too well…..

Toffee congratulations on kids getting into their first choice of school and on the decking. Enjoy your prosecco!

Ouch Blue, I hope the bath helps.

Don't worry Dogs your learn. Just learn to trust your gut. You will know when something isn't right, unpicking is more tricky but there are only so many options so once you rule out the obvious that is when the thinking comes to play. PLus most kids are nt, it is only sn kids that require superhuman parenting skills and even then there is training in learning to read your child as they develop from baby to child. It will be fine just enjoy the new born snuggles and remember it is just a phase it will change

*you'll learn

Thanks Dark that is a bit more reassuring to hear! I was started to wonder what I'd taken on!! Too late to turn back now as well!

I also wanted to pick your brains about a cleaning tip you gave a while back. Was it bicarbonate of soda that you said you make into a paste to treat the rubber seal on the washing machine?

Yes but only with at most lemon juice, it is too strong with bleach. Old tooth brush should do the job. I would probably just stick to bicarb and warm water paste to start off with. Not sure what seals can take what. And a buggered washing machine is fun for no man or woman.

Tumble dryer is throwing a strop atm. I think I need to take it apart and properly clean it. But it means the bedding i put on to dry before I went out was still wet when i got back and thus i have no bed
Just need to do two more loads of washing, put the ironing board away, cook sausages and make my bed - before face planting into it.

Thanks Dark will give that a go.

Sorry to hear about your tumble dryer. That is miserable your bed not being sorted for you to go to bed, I hope you don't have to stay up too late until you can get to bed Your list makes it sound like it will be late though, take care. I'm off to bed now I think as I'm really tired. Good night.